Chapter 5

BELLAMY

I watched Kenzie leave, and my heart broke with how much pain was in her voice. I never should have left. If I had known that she dealt with this on her own …

“Is that how she really feels?” Luca asked while she retreated.

What was I supposed to tell him? Either way, he was going to get hurt. However, his hurt did not bother me as much as hers did. He needed to know the truth because Kenzie was right. I was beginning to understand why she had always been a topic not often discussed with my parents.

Why would her family treat her so poorly especially given Aunty’s upbringing? It did not make any sense.

“Yeah, she does. Try seeing it from her perspective. Everyone is allowed to go about and do whatever they want to do. Whatever their whim is. Has she even visited one of the packs?”

His shoulders slumped, giving away the truth. I knew that Luca loved his sister more than anything. I could not fault him for the upbringing their parents chose for them. That did not mean that I was okay with it though.

“Yet, the Princess is trapped in her castle, looking out at a magical kingdom that she is an heir to with such sadness in her eyes. Do you know how exhilarated she was yesterday? I’ve never seen anyone that excited with eating a damn pastry. Have they told you the real reason why she can’t leave?”

He looked at me with confusion all over his features. “The poison,” he said.

“Ah okay,” I shrugged.

There had to be another reason why, but I was not going to find answers through Luca. It did not add up at all, but I would find out the truth because Kenzie deserved to know that. Yesterday when we walked in the dining room was starting to make sense now.

“Look, she will be fine. She just needs a moment to cool down. I’ll take her some breakfast, so you know she ate,” I offered.

Little did he know it was not for his peace of mind. I only cared about Kenzie’s feelings right now. I needed to talk to her and make sure that she was okay. There was no way that I would let her go through that pain alone. If she wanted to yell then she could yell at me. If she wanted to punch something then she could punch me. I would be there for her for whatever she needed right now.

I was not sure what she liked to eat, so I grabbed a plate of random things and a few of my own favorites before heading up to the roof. I figured that was her still safe spot, and thankfully, I was correct.

Kenzie always came to the roof when she was thinking about something important or when she needed a break. I now understood it was because she could see her kingdom even if she could not touch it. Aedrul was her damn birthright, yet she was being denied that very simple thing. I could not understand any of it.

She looked startled when she saw me and quickly turned her head away. I could smell the saltiness and knew she had been crying, but I was not going to say anything.

I plopped down next to her and slid the plate of food towards her.

“I figured you weren’t going to go to breakfast, so I thought I’d bring some so we could both eat next to a great view,” I told her with a smile.

She wiped her eyes before nodding. She angled her body to place the food between us. She grabbed a goldenberry pastry. I smiled because her eyes sparkled when she bit into it. I noticed it yesterday too. Kenzie could compose many things, and was a master of most of it, but her eyes always gave her away. They told the enjoyment that a taste brought or that a kiss caused.

“Goldenberries are my favorite as well,” I said. They were delicious and always made sure to bring some back to Atlanta whenever I came here.

We ate in silence because I could tell she had thoughts and questions in her head, so I wanted to give her time to think them through. I picked up the last goldenberry pastry and held it away from her.

“I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll give you the pastry if you tell me how you truly feel about all of this.”

I could see how much her admission to Luca hurt her, and that did not sit right with me. She had been alone, and I felt partially responsible because I left. She had to go through all of this on her own. She had other people, but Kenzie took after Aunty when it came compartmentalizing her emotions and shouldering everything on her own.

To know that she stopped telling them about nightmares that had apparently been a very difficult thing was proof that she felt it was best to stop complaining. It must have been terribly lonely. Well, she was not alone any longer.

Plus, it seemed as though they hid a lot of shit from her, and they had no right to do such a thing. It went further than the magic if my gut feeling was any indication.

She thought for a moment and held her hand out. I handed it over. A deal was a deal. She split it in half and handed half back to me. I took it from her with an appreciative nod. It was a very sweet thing of her to do.

“I’ve always felt like there was something they weren’t telling me about the poison and about me. Last night proved that I have magic, but they overly insisted that I did not. I never understood how that was even possible. I’m a Venscothi. Magic literally flows through us. They are always so evasive when I ask questions about the poison or being able to visit packs the way Luca does. We’re both heirs, yet I’m treated like a prisoner. I just don’t get it. Nothing has ever made sense.”

The heartbreak in her voice hit me hard. I grabbed her hips and slid her all the way over to me. It brought a smile to her face, and it made me feel great that I could do that for her. Kenzie should have more things to smile about in life, and I would do everything I could to ensure that she did.

I never imagined that I would be able to hold her or kiss her like we had. I could not deny that being so close to her was better than I could have ever imagined.

“They are great people, but they are hiding something from you. If it involves you then it’s not their place to decide whether or not you should know it. I’ve noticed that there’re a lot of power dampeners throughout the castle, yet they don’t dampen anyone’s powers. I think they were designed specifically for you. They know about the magic, and for some reason are trying to keep it from you,” I explained.

I felt horrible that they would do that. Magic was part of who we were. It was interesting that Kenzie’s magic was more like mine instead of like her family’s magic. It was more of a witch’s magic. It made me wonder if there were any witches in her lineage.

She buried her head in my chest and took some calming breaths. Kenzie hated to cry, so I tried to provide her whatever support I could. I placed my hands on hers and caressed them. Her body seemed to relax some underneath my touch.

“We’ll find answers. We’ll force them to give them to us.” I promised her, and I meant every word of it.

She looked up at me and was shocked with my promise. “You’d help me?”

“Of course, I would,” I told her sincerely.

I hated living in Aedrul and especially the castle, but I wanted to be around her. I would be wherever she was. I could not leave her again. That much was certain. I barely was able to force myself away before, and it would be impossible now.

She threw her arms around my neck and placed a kiss on my cheek.

“Is that the best I get?” I joked, feigning hurt.

She smacked my arm and lowered her lips to mine without hesitation. Her kisses were even better than I ever imagined. Trust me, I imagined and fantasized about it for years. To finally kiss the woman that I loved was an experience that I was afraid I would never get to have.

Her soft kisses got a bit more demanding. We were fighting for dominance while she pushed me onto my back. Her legs straddled my hips, and it was doing great things to my body.

Fuck. I needed her so badly. I wanted to ravage her body, leaving her breathless, and undone beneath me. My entire being desired to claim the only thing it craved for so many fucking years.

She kissed me once more before resting her forehead against mine.

“Sorry,” she said, breathing heavily. Kenzie’s eyebrows were creased, and her eyes were closed, but I was not sure why.

“What do you have to be sorry for? That was an amazing kiss.”

I ran my hands along her sides, trying to reassure her that I wanted her and needed her too. If only she knew how badly I had longed for this. She would never look at me the same if she knew just how many dirty fantasies she was the star of.

“Don’t hide from me,” I said softly.

Her eyes opened to show a magnetic lilac color instead of her normal blue eyes. My fingers traced underneath them. I had never seen ones like these before. Magnificent did not even cover it.

“They’re absolutely gorgeous. Why would you hide them?” I asked, mesmerized by them.

“Because they are part of the poison.” She tried to stand up, but I held her to me. “It’s the poison. It calls to your magic and wants it,” she said.

She bit her lip and watched me hesitantly as if it was something she was afraid to admit that to me.

How very wrong she was. This was not the poison. It was her magic. Her magic called to mine because of how powerful it was.

“Was this your hesitancy this morning with the portal?” I asked, and she nodded.

I ran my hand over her bare shoulder and let my magic out. It moved on its own accord and danced along her skin. She looked at me shocked and tried to move, but I held her still.

“It’s not the poison, Kenzie, it’s your magic. It wanted mine to help it manifest. That’s why you levitated off your bed last night. It must have tapped into mine for just a moment.”

She looked at me curiously and tilted her head to the side before snorting and shaking her head.

“They told me that it was a side effect of the poison,” she muttered angrily.

Her words angered me because they misled her. Why the hell would they do something like that?

What happened to the loving family that I aided in helping to save Aunty from Selene and Asry? What happened to the Aunty that I helped find her way out of her mind when she was poisoned with black magic? What about the Aunty that I sent to Tylaphina’s realm when Asry almost killed her? I truly did not even know who this fucking family was right now.

 “Do you want to come with me and let it manifest?” ‘Please say yes,’ I pleaded internally.  

“Yes,” she said, excitedly. That one word had me grinning like a fool.

She stood up and held her hand out for me. I took it and again looked at our hands together. Finally, after all these years. I had not imagined this turn of events. Also, I had not imagined that Kenzie would actually be a hybrid as well. I needed to find her witch lineage to verify before I mentioned it to her, but the lilac eyes told me that my hunch had been correct.

“Wait. What if they don’t want it to manifest? They have done a lot to ensure that it wouldn’t,” she said, worrying about their reactions.

I pulled her to me, so I could look directly into her beautiful eyes as I explained this simple concept to her.

“I care about them. I do. But fuck them right now. Fuck what they want. That is not their choice to make for you. Even if they had great intentions, which I believe they thought they did, they never should have hidden it from you. This is your life and your magic. Who better to teach you how to use it than me?” I asked her seriously.

She nodded with my logic, and I saw a spark in her eyes as she realized that I would actually help her with this.

“Where would we do it? I don’t want them to know until it worked,” she said, worriedly biting her bottom lip.

I thought about it for a moment, then I realized that I could take her to my apartment. It was outside Aedrul, and it was the safest place that she could go. My apartment was impenetrable. I put a lot of time and magic into ensuring just that.

“Let me take care of that. Wait here and I’ll tell them I’m taking you outside the castle for a while because of your fight with Luca,” I said.

I went to open a portal, but she stopped me first and leaned up for another kiss.

“Thank you, Bel,” she said with a true smile.

I opened a portal to her parents’ office. I knocked and opened the door to the three of them huddled over mountains of paperwork. I had to do plenty of paperwork myself, so I did not envy them for this. I hated paperwork, but someone had to do it.

I took a breath and steeled myself because the three of them were pissing me the fuck off. They would be answering for what they lied to her about once she was away from them and when she was ready to face them.

“Well damn, that’s a lot of dead trees,” I said with a chuckle.

Only Aunty smirked. The other two were too serious. Aunty was one of the few who truly saw their softer sides, with the exception of the twins and those closest to them. They had always been known as tough Alphas, and everyone knew how strong they were. Once Aunty split her magic between the trio, their strength grew significantly more on top of the power they received from being tied to Aedrul.

Aunty came over and gave me a warm hug that reminded me why I loved her so much. She had always had this sweet and gentle side until she had to show people who was boss. Everyone knew not to fuck with her. Many had tried over the years, but she shut them down each and every time. She was infamous inside and outside Aedrul for that as well as all she had changed in the shifter world.

“What can we do for you Bellamy?” she asked.

What can you do for me? Stop lying to your daughter would be a great start, but I could not say that. I had to be diplomatic for now.

“I’m sure you heard about the spat between the twins,” I said, looking around at nodding heads. “I want to take Kenzie outside the castle again. She just needs to take a minute to cool down after her run-in with Luca. We had a great time yesterday, and she was absolutely safe. She’s probably safer with me than any of her guards.”

Uncle K snorted and nodded at that. The smirk on his face was just like the old days when we were kids.

“He’s probably right on that account. You wouldn’t hold the position you do if you weren’t capable of it. Will you make sure she wears the Delzet?” Uncle K asked.

That piqued my interest. I knew the true intention of the Delzet, but I would not let them know that.

“On one condition,” I suggested.

“What condition would that be?” Uncle Xander asked, looking to me with amusement in his eyes.

It was not every day that someone would put conditions in place to an Alpha, let alone the future Alpha Kings. Luckily, they all kind of liked me. That might change when we confront them later, but as long as Kenzie is okay then that was all that mattered.

I picked up the delzet from Aunty and placed it safely in my pocket before fixing my gaze back on them.

“No guards. I can portal away at the first sign of danger, but it can be problematic to my abilities if there’s a guard there,” I explained.

The three were mindlinking, so I gave them whatever time they needed. You could not tell that they were mindlinking except for the very faint magic signature that I could pick up on. Not all witches could, but I was not a typical witch. Yes, I considered myself more witch than shifter.

“That’s fine. Keep in contact with us though if anything happens,” Aunty said.

I bowed my head and left the room quickly before they could change their minds. I opened successive portals to get more vials, grab some clothes from her room, and back up to the roof.

Kenzie looked up, surprised with my quick entry.

“It’ll take time to get used to that.” She laughed, sounding a lot happier than earlier. “How did it go?”

I held up the backpack filled with the things we needed and shook it gently.

“It went the way I thought it would. Your mother has a hard time saying no to me,” I said, flashing her a smile.

Her heartrate picked up, but she just smacked my chest, and took a calming breath. I never imagined I would be able to elicit such reactions from her, but I was happy about that. She seemed just as affected by me as I was by her. Did she also long for me while I was gone, or would that be too much to hope for?

“So, where to?” she asked me, taking the bag from me, and putting it on.

I zipped my lips and opened another portal. I held my hand out to her. She stepped through it without hesitation. Stepping through portals, for those who were not used to it, could cause fuzziness in their heads. She would get used to it, but I held her to me while she looked like her head was spinning.

She looked around curiously once her head cleared. Her eyes lit up as she took in the rooms she could see. There was a strong bout of curiosity there.

“We’re in my apartment,” I told her before she asked.

She nodded and went to the glass door of the balcony. Her breath hitched as she took in the beautiful sight of the city. My apartment was on the twentieth floor, so I had a great view. It was one of the best in the city.

“Where are we? This doesn’t look like Aedrul.” She turned around, crossing her arms over her chest. One eyebrow raised in question.

I smirked and turned around without answering her. She chuckled and followed me throughout the apartment. It was a penthouse, but I owned the rest of the building too. I made it into my own dream house where I could train and do whatever else caught my fancy.

The first floor even had a garage where I restored older vehicles and had a fleet of specialty cars. Other designated spots were aimed at learning how to master various types of magic, and some were even where I brought select witches that I trained.

“Atlanta, Georgia actually. Surely you remember from yesterday,” I teased her.

“Yeah, not in the kingdom then,” she said, laughing.

She stood next to me as she tried to figure out why I stopped here.

“This is my most protected safe. My entire apartment is safe and warded to be impenetrable. However, this safe is just another layer on top of that,” I explained before pulling out the Delzet and placing it inside.

“Why are you putting that in there?” she asked, curiously.

I closed the safe and placed an additional warding on it. Kenzie’s eyes flashed lilac, so I held my hand up to her. She could clearly see my magic pulsating. She placed hers above mine and looked shocked when her magic rushed out and danced along the top of mine without touching it. Wow. It was beautiful magic indeed.

“The Delzet siphons magic. They wanted me to ensure that you wore it, but I would never let someone touch your magic unless you wanted them to,” I promised her.